Pro-Innovation Bias
The assumption that all innovations are inherently beneficial and should be rapidly adopted by everyone in a social system, often ignoring potential disadvantages, risks, or the need for modification.
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Origin
Communication scholar Everett M. Rogers identified pro-innovation bias in Diffusion of Innovations, first published in 1962 at Ohio State University. Rogers recognized that diffusion research itself carried an implicit assumption that innovations should be diffused rapidly and adopted universally without reinvention or rejection. He later devoted sections of his work to examining this bias and other methodological weaknesses, believing that recognizing a field's assumptions strengthens scientific progress.
Updated February 22, 2026